Married With Scars
by BulletHunter09
Summary: None of the Avengers knew how scarred Natasha was, until one by one they got the stories of her past. Romanogers Shipping. Disclaimer: Not For The Light-Hearted
1. Chapter 1: Thor

"Lady Natasha, I was wondering if you would like to spar in the gym." The god of Thunder spoke up as he entered the living area of the Avengers Tower. The Avengers had been living there since the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D, when their apartments and safe houses had been compromised and Stark had offered each of them a room or a floor of the Tower to call their own.

Natasha had only recently taken the offer, once she got lonely travelling the world trying to discover herself. So in her spare time at the tower, she spent lounging on the couch thinking about how she had accepted her past and move on as Natasha Romanoff, The Black Widow.

"Of course, if the almighty Thor is prepared to be beaten by a woman." Natasha was up and next to Thor in seconds, already in her gym clothes consisting of: a long sleeve top and jogging bottoms. Thor only laughed at Natasha quip and walked, with the spy in tow, towards the elevator.

Hours later, Natasha and Thor were exhausted; the Norse god only winning the odd match against Natasha.

However, in the last match, Thor managed to catch Natasha's sleeve which ripped off with a resounding tare. It was only then, he realised that the spy was permanently marked around the wrist. Natasha noticed Thor staring at her wrists intently, making her feel very uncomfortable; but before she could do anything the god had spoken.

"Lady Natasha, how did these marks come about?" Genuine concern for her laced in his voice, as he stepped towards her.

"Don't worry about it Thor, its nothing." The redhead tried to deter the god with little success.

Suddenly, Thor's stature changed from the light-heartedness that usually followed him, to the angry thunder that most feared in battle. "Was this Lord Steven? Did he hurt you?"

Nat was shocked; more shocked than when they were first faced with Loki. "Wha…What? No it wasn't Steve. These, Thor, are old. Almost 70 years old now."

This seemed to relax the god for a moment before the confusion of what the spy had said took hold. "You said, 'almost 70 years', how is that possible?"

With a sigh the redhead sat down, followed by Thor, and told the story of how the scars had happened.

"In this world of the impossible, I was taken from my parents when I was no older than 5. The destruction of a person that I can never be again. I watched as the house, I called home, burn down. I heard my mother and father scream for me, their ' _little Natalia',_ as they burnt to death _._ I can still smell the smoke that flooded the air, suffocating everything and I can feel the heat burn my skin even now.

"I was rescued by a man called Ivan that worked for the KGB and I was then recruited for the Black Widow project. It was there I learned all I know today. However each night, from the very first day, all _subjects_ were chained to the bed by the wrists. So when you moved – when you tossed or turned – the chains would cut into you skin and make you bleed. You learnt to not move in your sleep because one move for some and they met their demise. These marks are the creation of me. These marks are the beginning."

The two heroes sat in silence, before Thor moved to kiss Natasha on the cheek. The move startled the spy, however she didn't let it show nor did she react.

"You are protected now Tasha. We won't let this happen again." He spoke softly as he retreated off the floor.

"Thank you Thor." A smile graced the redhead's face, which sparked a grin from the god. "How about another round, winner takes all?"

"Deal!" Thor bellowed before being flipped onto the ground with a giggle slipping out of Nat's mouth.


	2. Chapter 2: Tony

Black skies painted the landscape as another uneventful week passed the Avengers. Tony was just walking into the kitchen as Steve proclaimed dinner was ready. The Captain had taken the job of cook since moving in and no one was complaining. Clint had even gone as far as stating it beat Laura's cooking; which later earned him a smack from his wife because Natasha had ratted him out.

Before Tony could even sit at the table, Steve had asked if he could inform Natasha about dinner. Reluctantly, the billionaire made his way towards the Spy's room.

Without a seconds thought, Tony barged into the room. "What the actual fuck Stark?!" Natasha screamed at him. She was in the middle of putting her top on, and quickly turned so her back was facing the 'genius'.

"Um… um… your boyfriend… um… wanted you to know dinner was ready." He was momentarily fazed as the warm light showed the long pale pink lines that married Tasha's otherwise perfect skin. "What's happened to your back?"

"Nothing." She snapped at him; trying to manoeuvre around Tony but failing when he grabbed her wrists.

"That is not, 'nothing' Tasha! What the hell happened to you?"

Shaking her head defiantly, she shot back with, "What does it matter to you?"

Hurt covered the billionaire's face but it didn't deter him. Stepping closer to her, Tony trapped Natasha against the wall. "You are like a sister to me Nat, if someone is hurting you I need to know."

"No one is hurting me anymore. They are nothing but memories of a past life; a past romance gone wrong." Tony just lifted an eyebrow, wanting her to tell more.

"Okay, but I swear if you say anything to anyone I will murder you in your sleep Stark and no one would know!" Without waiting for his response Natasha told him what happened.

"Unlike most believe, I do know how to love. I was married at 20, but my husband," Spitting the words like they were venom, "he was 'killed' a couple of years later. I had officially become The Black Widow with a hundred kills under my belt. However, I found that all I knew was lies and I ran. Not many months later, I was captured by a man I knew very well."

The spy took a long deep breath, eyes full of hatred, "My 'dead' husband wasn't very dead. He was now the Red Guardian, intent on me joining back with Red Room and the KGB. With every refusal I was tortured, tortured for months. So my scars are from him, my dear Alexi whipping me into a submission I never granted him."

Tony had long ago let go of Tasha and now just stared at her with remorse ever set in his features. "I'm so sorry Nat." He moved to hug her but Tasha only shrugged him off.

"It doesn't matter Stark, he's dead now. I made him bleed to death as I slowly ripped every nerve ending out of his body." Like that, Natasha had walked off down the hallway toward the elevator. Moments later, Stark followed shoulders heavy from the knowledge of Natasha's past.


	3. Chapter 3: Bruce

It was late summer when Bruce found out about Natasha's scars. The heat had been unbearable for the last week and most of the time all the male avenger's spent in the pool trying to cool down. They hadn't seen Natasha since the heat wave hit; even Steve didn't know where she had retreated to.

It was early one morning when Bruce ran into Nat as she was coming in from the pool. "So you are still around in the tower."

"Of course, where else would I be?" The redhead was drying her hair off as she waited for the kettle to boil. She looked so comfortable in her shorts and tank top, but it was when she jumped onto the counter the shiny skin on her legs caught his attention.

"Tony thought you had gone back to the ice lands of Russia. But the rest of us thought you had gone back to the Avengers training facility because they have a working Air-Con." Bruce looked extremely uncomfortable being this close to The Black Widow even after all the time they have worked together.

The air tensed as Natasha sat silently swinging her legs back and forth as she waited for Bruce to ask his question.

"Just spit it out Bruce!" Nat finally blurted out as she grew impatient with the scientist. Her out burst startled the man as he poured out his cereal, spilling it everywhere.

"Question… what question?" He stuttered, avoiding eye contact with the spy.

"You want to know what's with the scars on my legs."

"Umm, maybe." He moved away from the kitchen and toward the dinning table, putting a little distance between the two of them.

"I don't bite you know, weeeeell as long as your on my good side." A signature smirk graced Nat's features. "Since I can tell you want to know, I will tell you. But this is a one time thing, as I know you should remember this incident as well as I do.

"You remember when Loki got his goons to attack the helicarrier and you lost your hold on the hulk?" She asked him, with his nod Natasha continued. "Well a load of debris fell on me when the explosion went off and almost crushed my legs. If it had, I wouldn't be here today making you uncomfortable. These," She stated as she traced the small lines with her index finger, "are the reminder I have of when my best friend and my ass-kicking partner tried to kill me."

Bruce looked at Natasha will sorrow-filled eyes but didn't say anymore as the kettle finished boiling and the redhead quickly made the herbal tea – that only Bruce and her drank – and left with her cup.

It was almost comical that as soon as Nat was out of sight, all the other Avengers appeared from their rooms and didn't see her.


	4. Chapter 4: Clint

Clint had known for years that Natasha had her own way of remembering but he had never questioned her on what it was. He knew if she had ever needed to talk to anyone, he would be her first point of call until he told her about Laura. Even with Natasha being a few decades older than both Clint and Laura, she was still one of their children.

So when Clint found her dragging a razor over her arm, he panicked.

"What the fuck Nat? Please tell me you're not trying to kill yourself." He was on the verge of screaming the house down. She had been staying at his farm house on a visit to the family after a very tough mission, which Nat had been reluctant to tell anyone about.

"Why would I do that?" Her voice laced with confusion as a few stray tears slipped down her cheeks; pain screaming throughout her body.

Clint had stepped closer to her now, forcing her hand and the razor away from her skin. It was too late; a shallow, short cut was now bleeding over the many other similar size ones. Tallies, he realised.

The archer's voice soft and calming, as he wiped the tears away. "Tasha what are these?"

She took a deep breath and looked away from him. "They are a mark for all the innocent lives I have taken. In my 73 years of being the monster Red Room created, I've taken this many lives that didn't deserve it."

"Then surely they wouldn't increase. Who was this?" Clint said pointing to the fresh wound that was now healing slowly.

"My latest mission was to get intel on a group of rouge KGB operatives. I was almost out of the facility when a little girl got in my way. She was no older than 8 and it was evident that she was being trained as an assassin. We thought the KGB stopped this sort of training years ago. So… I had to… kill her… it was kill or be killed. Clint, she was no older than Lila." The sobs increased until the spy broke down, mourning the loss of another life at her own hands. Gently the 'retired' archer wiped the blood away, sterilising the wound.

It was around half hour later, when Laura found Clint carrying an unconscious Natasha from the bathroom to her bedroom. Her arm bandaged and a broken look on his face. His eyes catching his wife's, promising that everything will be fine with time.


	5. Chapter 5: Steve

They had been dating for almost a month now, and to say that both Steve and Natasha were happy was an understatement. It was clear to an idiot that both were smitten for each other. So when the day came for Natasha to finally allow Steve to see all her scars, he was more than gentle. As her clothes fell piece by piece to the floor Steve worshipped her. Placing soft kisses over every scar, making her forget why they littered her skin in the first place. He started at her legs, making the horrors of her best friends killer cold eyes fade from memory. Steve hands trailed up and down Nat's arms, feeling every bump of a tally mark, the sensation of which set the spy's nerves alight.

"No matter what anyone tells you Tasha, you are beautiful." He murmured against her skin, sending tingles up her spine. Only Steve had ever called her beautiful after seeing her damaged and broken. He didn't know what being called beautiful meant to her: even with the amount of red that tainted her ledger, made her feel worthy of living on another day.

Once Natasha's top fell away, Steve found two bullet wounds – one on her shoulder and one just above her hip. Knowing how they both happened, the Captain placed butterfly kisses over them before his face was dragged back up so his lips met Nat's. He knew to never grab her around the wrists and never to scratch her back to hard all because he didn't want her to be haunted by a terrible pass that no person should have endured.

They kissed for what seemed like forever, the world just dropping away from around them. It was hours later they lay next to each other, Steve still in his trousers but his top repossessed by Natasha. His shirt was like a dress to her, but he found it extremely sexy to know that she was going to be his one day.

"I've never said that I was sorry." Natasha sudden stated, interrupting the quiet serenity around them.

"Sorry for what?" The Captain moved onto this side to look at his partner.

"For not telling you straight away about Bucky being alive; about not giving you my full trust from the beginning."

Steve was shocked; never in a million years would he have expected Natasha to say this.

"Its fine Tasha, the past is the past. We get the opportunity to write a new future together," He knew it was a bit sudden to make a promise of forever but in the world of superheroes and craziness, he knew he wanted her to be his from day one.

"I love you Steve, you give me a reason to fight everyday. To correct the wrongs and show the world Black Widow isn't so heartless." With a final kiss, Nat curled up against Steve and was out like a light.

"I love you too Natalia Alianovna Romanova. I love you and your imperfections."


End file.
